Twitter Updates

February 2010

27/02/2010

I use a KitchenAid Artisan Blender
for all sorts of whizzing and blending. My wife bought it for me at Christmas 2009. Before that I had an old smoothie maker that did great service for almost 5 years - the KitchenAid seems more robustly constructed so I'm hoping to get lots of years of use from it.

There's a great example of the smoothly blended results you can get with the KitchenAid Artisan in my Quick Salsa Verde recipe.

Aztec Pudding is the richest, most artery clogging dish that I have tasted in a long, long time. I followed the recipe and had to adapt it in some places but I get the feeling that this could be the equivalent of a statue of an elephant created by someone who has only ever had an elephant described to them. If I got it wrong - please let me know.

25/02/2010

This is a great recipe for using up leftover pulled pork. You can substitute other meats if you wish - just remember that raw meat will take extra cooking to get it really tender. It's also easy to prepare as most of the ingredients come from tins.

This spicy combination of shredded beef, stewed tomatoes and serrano chiles makes a delicious filling for warm corn tortillas. I used beef feather steak in this recipe - you can substitute other cuts. The recipe traditionally uses flank steak or skirt but these cuts aren't readily available in UK butchers.

23/02/2010

Preparation time: 10 minutes, can be eaten immediately but better after an hour or two in the fridge.

This coleslaw is similar to that served as a side dish in BBQ joints in Memphis. The white pepper, mustard and celery seeds give it a distinctive flavour that is nothing like shop bought British coleslaws. It's delicious, cheap and easy to make.

I was cooking pulled pork and decided to have a go at making cornbread. I didn't have proper cornmeal so I tried Masa Harina ground corn instead. You can often find Masa Harina on the specialist ingredient shelves at UK supermarkets. I found this recipe and adapted it slightly for UK measures. The result was really good - different from regular cornbread but very appetising.

21/02/2010

I can't wait for spring to arrive so that I can start slow cooking food outdoors in my smoker. In the meantime, this recipe uses liquid smoke and smoked paprika to give a little bit of 'fake tan' BBQ taste to an oven roast chicken. Ancho chile powder gives an added depth of flavour without being overly spicy.

Ingredients

1 large free range organic chicken

50g butter

1 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)

1 tsp ancho chile powder

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

8 cloves garlic

1 lime

1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke

Maldon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.

Wash and pat dry the chicken.

Add butter, oregano, ancho chile powder, smoked sweet paprika, chopped garlic and liquid smoke with the juice of the lime to a bowl and combine to make a thick paste.

Push your hand into the neck space of the bird and wriggle your hand around to separate the chicken skin from the breast meat.

Smear half of the mixture inside the space you have created between skin and breast.

Smear the rest of the mixture on the outside of the bird to give it a fake tan.

Place the chicken in a roasting dish and roast for 20 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes.

Baste every 15 minutes or so for the first hour.

Sprinkle Maldon salt on the skin 30 minutes before the end of cooking time.

When cooked the chicken should be removed from the oven, loosely covered with foil and allowed to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

You can serve this with traditional Sunday Roast vegetables - roast potatoes, carrots, peas, gravy. It also goes well with BBQ side dishes such as coleslaw, potato salad and BBQ beans.

18/02/2010

Wow! This recipe tastes great. Pork is slow cooked in salsa verde before being shredded and roasted and served in soft corn tortillas..The result is a combination of soft and crisp textures with a tangy spiced flavour.